Help!!!

First time hatching eggs,not sure what looking for.eggs are at 18 days which what i pick up is now lockdown.day 1-18 have kept near as i can -humity at 50% and temp at 90-95 but have had occasions when temp has dropped to 77.2 and risen to 101.4 how badly would this effect the chance hatching.Also think i can smell a bad egg but should i check and remove or just let eggs go full term as its in lockdown nigel 5764

We just hatched 4 mixed breeds, 4 out of 13 eggs made it. We had no smelly ones, but did have to remove 9 eggs (infertile). DO you know how to "candle" the eggs? This is importatnt, you should see embryo developing after 8-10 days. If after that time you have now shadowy forms or opaque areas of the egg being candled, this is likely infertile. If you ahve one the was good that has died, it will smell bad. I read somewhere that smelly eggs must be removed before they "blow up" and defile the viable ones.

and from Ohio. So glad you joined. Take each egg out and smell them. You don't want it to explode in the bator. I would think your eggs are going to be a little behind with the temps at 90-95 degrees. You should have been at 99-99.5, unless it is a still air bator then it should have been at 101-101.5 degrees. Good luck.

Quote:X2, ESPECIALLY on the "take each egg out and smell them". Trust me, she's right -- you do NOT want it to explode in the incubator! Aside from the stench that would, as my precious great-aunt Laverne used to say, "run a bear off a gut wagon" , you don't want the rest of the eggs contaminated by the bacteria from the bad egg(s). Any that smell rotten should be removed AT ONCE!! She's also right about the eggs possibly being delayed a day or two -- eggs don't always hatch on 'THE DAY' they're scheduled, just like human babies don't always hit the target day. Temp variations (in the 'bator AND the ambient room temp), humidity levels, etc. can affect length of incubation. Don't give up hope unless and until the eggs have gone even 2 or 3 days past their projected hatch date. Again, though, if any really nasty smell starts developing, follow your nose and deal with it ASAP.
Edited to correct silly typo

& from Alabama. 90-95 is a little too low. I try to keep my incubators at around 99.5F. Lower temps usually cause eggs to be late hatching. If you would like to candle them, here's a link to a great thread about it & pictures of developing eggs: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261876 Good luck